Fairytale Endings
by clairedelune2
Summary: A story of Ahiru's true origins, and a continuation of the series after the story's end.
1. Prologue

My first fanfic! I was thinking about how strange it was that Ahiru was even able to fall in love with Mytho in the first place, and came up with this. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated and wanted!  
>Edit: I've done some editing to this beginning, and made some slight changes. I just elaborated on a few small details.<p>

**Fairytale Endings**

**By Clairedelune2**

_Once upon a time, as all good stories start, there lived a princess in a kingdom to the north. Her parents's only child, she was beloved of them and their kingdom's people, showered with love and affection by her parents and the people she would one day rule. But tragedy struck the life of this carefree child, in the form of an usurper to the throne. He claimed rule to the kingdom, declaring the monarchy corrupt and unfair, and killed the king and queen. The princess, hiding away in the midst of the take-over, fled the palace and its city in secret, aided by the princess's nurse, a kind young woman. Overcome by what she had seen and losing all faith in humanity, the girl harnessed an ancient magic and turned herself into a duck. Just a simple duck, the most humble bird she knew of. The princess quickly lost herself to the form, locking away any and all human memories to save her from the pain of losing parents, kingdom, and self all in the midst of a day. But despite her attempts, the one thing she could never forfeit was her human heart, which, although she lacked all memory of her humanity, kept her from being just a simple duck. _

_ And one day, as princesses are wont to do, she fell in love with a sad-eyed prince as he danced along her lake. An evil sorcerer noticed her longing and for his own amusement turned her into a girl, and a princess. He thought it due to the skill of his craft that this transformation, which seemed so against nature, was so easy to perform. But in fact he had only revealed her true nature, which was far easier to do. However, without her human memories, the girl believed herself to be nothing but a duck, and at first was grateful to the strange man who seemed to have given her a chance to be with her prince._

_ To his chagrin, this girl-duck he believed to have created came to resist him, defying his hold on her. With the help of a knight-turned-writer, the man's evil deeds were conquered, and the prince was able to claim his happy ending with his chosen princess, unfortunately not our heroine. Without the man's sorcery and no memory of her human life, the magic was reversed and the girl became a duck once more. _

_All was not lost, however, for by the duck's side remained the former knight, with the same powers of the sorcerer but a far kinder heart. In their last moments together as girl and boy, he had promised to stay with her, regardless of her form. And so they lived, neither aware of the true origins of the duck. That is, until the boy began trying to use his powers to restore the duck's human form._


	2. Chapter 1

Hey, so here is the first real chapter of the story, I think I'll call that one before the prologue. Thanks for the encouragement, telling me to continue this! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, but with only myself to read it over and edit it I may have missed something. Let me know if there is anything here you think I should change, or if you find a grammar/spelling mistake. Or, maybe if someone wants to volunteer to beta read for me? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Edit: I've edited the story a bit, changed a couple small things around. If you've already read this chapter, no need to read it again since the changes are so small.

**Fairytale Endings-Chapter One**

Since the story's end, three mostly uneventful years had passed in Kinkan Town. Sometimes Fakir felt it had been only last week since then, and at other times he felt the passing of the years like a thorn in his side. True to his promise he had stayed with Duck, and had moved back home with Charon to be with her. Kinkan Academy would never have let him keep a duck in his room. He didn't know how long ducks usually lived, and he wanted to make sure he stayed by her side, as he had promised, until the far off day when they would truly part. Yet each year that passed took them closer to that day, and Fakir was often frustrated by the limits of her shape. He had told her it did not matter if she was a duck for the rest of her life, but with each year Fakir began to wonder if this was still true.

In that first year, as life faded back into its normal routines, or as normal as you could get after having fought with an evil writer with magical powers. Fakir had looked out for any sadness on Duck's part with the story over and the prince with Rue. But she seemed content, happy even. He was sure that even if she hadn't been, she would hide it so as not to worry him.

That first year had been uneventful, and though he missed talking to Duck and hearing her answer back (though he'd never admit that to her), he was just happy to have her there. Even if she was a duck, she was the only true friend Fakir had. Even though Charon had been told of all that had taken place when they were in the story's control, he was more like a father than a friend to Fakir. And though Autor and he remained on cordial terms, you could hardly call what they had friendship. To be honest, Autor annoyed Fakir, but he was still the only one besides Duck who remembered all of those crazy events. Duck's simple presence helped keep Fakir from becoming lonely in Mytho's absence. However, while he was content for the first year, Fakir started to worry when the year passed and Duck, instead of growing into an adult bird, remained a duckling. It was unnatural. All the other ducklings had grown, and flown south for the winter. But strangely, she remained the same. At first Fakir hid his worry from even himself, reasoning gruffly that Duck was even bad at being a bird. But he couldn't hide it for long, and eventually even Charon noticed that Duck should have changed. Normal ducks would never take more than seven months to mature. They discussed it when Duck was out of the room, but neither Fakir nor Charon could come up with a valid reason for it. So they left it at that, choosing ignorance over worry. Eventually the seasons changed and the birds returned, but Duck remained a young bird. Another year passed, and then a third. It was in the beginning of the third year that Fakir began looking for reasons why Duck did not grow like a normal bird.

He had noticed a slight change in Duck's plumage in the course of the past year. She showed some signs of growing her adult feathers, but at nowhere near the rate at which ducklings usually did. So Fakir had reluctantly consulted Autor, for lack of a better idea. The boy spent enough time in the library that he could easily find a book to reference most questions with. It was Autor's idea that Duck was growing at the rate of a human girl. After all, if she had remained a girl, Duck would be about sixteen now. Not quite an adult, but no longer a child. Autor's theory fit, as Duck had gotten larger and grown many of her adult feathers by this time. When he shared this theory with the duck in question, her eyes lit up like a puzzle piece had fallen into place, but that look quickly turned into one of confusion. Why?

It was Autor's theory that got him thinking. If Duck really was growing at the pace of a human, then why? While the evidence fit the theory, it was hardly a scientific hypothesis. There was no reason for this to be happening. Had Drosselmeyer done even more harm than they had thought? Had his meddling disrupted the natural cycle of his little duck? Fakir, although he now had enough experience to call himself a writer, was no scholar. He searched in books for anything similar, and after countless dead ends and a whole pile of useless information came up with his own theory about the matter.

"I've come up with a theory about it," Fakir said, interrupting Autor's study at the library. Autor gave a mild glance of annoyance but waved his hand to prompt Fakir to continue. "We know that this is impossible for a normal duck. But we already know she isn't just some ordinary duck. Drosselmeyer's meddling either created something new or discovered something inside of her. I think, that is, she may have a human heart. I know it sounds ridiculous, but so does a town being caught in a story. We've already seen firsthand how having something foreign in your heart can disturb someone, like all those people with shards of Mytho's heart. Could Drosselmeyer's influence in her life do something like that?"

"A human heart? That could explain her strange rate of growth, although it is something never before experienced. But are you sure it was solely due to Drosselmeyer? We _have_ wondered why he would choose a duck for his story. Certainly the man was eccentric, but could it have been more than a whim? What if he saw something in her, say, like a human heart. If that is true, then her return to the form of a duck at the story's end truly gave him the tragic ending he longed for."

"It also explains why a duck was able to care about Mytho so much," Fakir said. But if it was true, that just created more questions. "If my theory is right, what would that even mean? How could a heart like that live, trapped in a foreign form."

In the week following their conversation, Fakir kept thinking it over. If Duck had a human heart, then she couldn't just be a simple duck. In the past Fakir had thought that there was more to her than meets the eye. Maybe he had been more right than he knew. Yet they still had no way to prove it. He shared the theory with Duck, but it seemed to only confuse her. She had told herself for so long that she was "just a duck", she couldn't think of being anything else.

With this new theory, Fakir considered trying to write a story for Duck. A story to unlock the mystery of her human heart, and what it meant. That is, if he even was right. He wanted to use his powers for good, and that meant using them to help those he cared about. And one day, two weeks after Fakir's conversation with Autor, while Duck was at the lake, Fakir secluded himself in his room and began picking the right words for his story.

xxx

_Quack!_ Duck was swimming around the lake as usual, trying to get the attention of the other ducks. Fakir wasn't around, and she wanted some company. Since the story's end she had even been able to make friends with some of the other ducks, but most tended to avoid the strange duck that refused to grow at the same rate as the rest of them.

When the story had ended and she had gone back to being a duck, she hadn't minded it as much as she had thought. Sure, she couldn't dance or see Pique and Lillie anymore, but Fakir had promised to stay by her side. That was good enough for her. Even though everything else had changed, his presence had never wavered. Duck was glad to know she could always count on him to be there.

She knew Fakir was a little worried about her slow growth, but she had decided not to worry about it. After all, if she couldn't do anything about it, why worry? It probably just meant she would have more time with Fakir. In the few years since the story's end, Duck had really come to depend on Fakir. And true to his word, he had never let her down. Fakir was dependable, and she liked that. Even though she was just a duck, she knew he cared about her, although he would never say it. And she felt the same.

They had even had a few visits from Mytho and Rue! Duck was so glad to see the two of them happy together. Although she had been upset when Mytho chose Rue, Duck knew that they belonged together. Besides, as a duck she'd had a lot of time to think, and she had come to the conclusion that what she had felt for Mytho would never have been as strong as Rue's love. And Mytho had loved Princess Tutu anyway, not Duck. She had bounced back, as she always did, and she was happy with Fakir. Although sometimes at night she dreamt of being a girl again, and dancing a _pas de deux_ with Fakir, like they had done in the Lake of Despair.

Lately, however, she was a bit worried about Fakir. She knew he was concerned over her strangely slow growth, and he had shared his theory with her as best he could. It didn't make sense to her though. If anything, it left her with more questions. Aside from the meddling of Drosselmeyer, she had always been a duck. Hadn't she? It was at times like these that she missed being a girl. She knew Fakir was worried about her, and maybe if she wasn't a duck she could do something to help him. She would like that.

Duck was running through these thoughts this when she felt, well, strange. She couldn't quite place the feeling, but it felt like a tingling sensation, right where her heart was. As was her nature, Duck panicked, and hopping out of the water, began to run in a circle in the grass. Suddenly she stopped, feeling a bit lightheaded. Standing there, Duck felt a sensation that was familiar to her, although she hadn't felt it in three years. In a burst of light, Duck transformed into a girl.

Surprised and confused over the sudden change, Duck looked down to see if she wore a pendant like before. To her discovery, she didn't, but was pleased to note that in this one transformation she had appeared with clothes on. Duck glanced at her reflection in the water, expecting to see herself unchanged from three years ago. However, there were subtle changes. Her face had become less full, and she looked a bit older, her figure filling out. But considering it had been three years, this made sense. She looked a bit like she had as Princess Tutu, although she wore a different dress. This one was a light shade of blue, and was quite pretty.

Moving away from her reflection, Duck stood and reflected on the moments before her change. Had she noticed anything different? She couldn't think of anything, and decided that the best place for her to go would be Charon's house. Fakir would be there, and he could help her figure it out. She didn't know what had prompted this sudden change, and hoped he might. Unused to her longer human legs, Duck started at a run towards town.

xxx

Fakir added the final word to his story, threw some sand on the paper to dry the ink, and then got up to get Duck from the lake. The story was sure to give them some answers, and he was impatient, so he didn't bother with burning the pages like he normally would. If he didn't go get her now, she could be there for at least another hour. She had a habit these days of staying at the lake for long hours, doing who knew what. Fakir didn't think she was unhappy though. That would have worried him.

Just as he opened the door to his bedroom, he heard a crash against the front door, like someone had run against it. It was probably the children from across the street playing again. Fakir opened the door, and began to reprimand them, but stopped short. Standing in front of the door, panting like she had run the whole way there, was Duck. Seeing him, she exclaimed, "Fakir! I knew you'd be here, and I thought maybe you could help me figure out what happened. I'm a girl again!"

"I could have figured that out for myself, moron. Tell me what happened," Fakir replied, letting Duck into the house, and sitting her at the table.

Once she had caught her breath, Duck told Fakir in detail what had happened to her at the lake, and answered his questions, but started to get annoyed when he kept asking her how it happened. "I don't know, Fakir, I told you! I was just swimming in the lake and now I'm a girl! I don't know any more than you. Did you write a story or something?" Duck asked. It was the only explanation, she reasoned.

That stopped Fakir. He had written a story, but not about Duck becoming a girl. "Yeah, I did. It wasn't supposed to make this happen though." He stared at her for a minute before catching himself. She was older, and a little taller too. So Autor had been right about her aging in human years, instead of a duck's.

"Can I see it?" Duck asked shyly. Fakir hadn't really let her see his stories in the past, but this was important! It could tell them why she was a girl again.

Reluctantly Fakir let her into his room to see the story. He was still trying to get used to seeing her as a girl again. After three years of knowing her as a duck, it was a bit disconcerting. Fakir gave Duck the story to look over. "Hmph. Can you even read?"

Duck chose not to answer this, and stuck her tongue out at him before glancing down at the page. "What's this mean, 'Her human heart revealed her true nature'? You were trying to figure out why I've been growing differently, right?

Hearing the line Duck read aloud startled Fakir. Maybe that was what had changed her into a girl. If she truly possessed the heart of a human girl, then it only made sense for her to change when he wrote a line like that. Fakir couldn't believe he hadn't thought about that. He explained this idea to Duck.

"So the reason I'm a girl again is because I have a human heart? I know you said that before, but I thought I was still just a duck," Duck wondered, confused for different reasons now. "But since I'm a girl again, does that mean I can dance ballet again? And I can see Pique and Lillie! They don't remember me though... but that's ok! I'm sure we'll be friends again." Duck smiled. There were a lot of things she had missed about being a girl. And now maybe her dream of dancing a _pas de deux_ wasn't that unlikely... she blushed a little at the thought.

"I don't think it's that simple. I wrote that story to get some answers, not to make you a girl again. This just creates more questions. But I suppose for the meantime you'll have to go to the Academy. I can keep an eye on you that way." Just at that moment Charon walked in, finished his work for the day as a blacksmith, and interrupted any retort Duck would have made. He was very surprised, but happy, to see Duck as a girl again. Over dinner Fakir and Duck explained to him what had happened, and after agreeing that Duck should go back to school at Kinkan Academy, all three retired to separate rooms for the night.

Duck didn't have anything to sleep in besides her pretty dress, but luckily enough Charon had given her one of Fakir's old shirts to wear. As Duck unbraided her hair for bed, she contemplated the strange day. It was so wonderful to be a girl again! For one, she was sleeping in a real bed! Not that she had really missed one as a duck, but still. Duck nestled into the sheets of the bed, and started drifting off, thinking vaguely that the shirt smelled like Fakir.

xxx

"_Mama! Papa!" she cried, running towards the king and queen on her short six year old legs. Her father caught her up and hugged her to his chest as her mother looked on. _

_A new scene appeared, Duck a little older, her mother trying to teach her a dance step. _

_Then she was twelve years old, peering through a window into the ballroom, where her parents hosted a ball she was not old enough to attend. A handsome man addressed the king and queen, dressed in black, with very pale hair. _

Duck twitched in her sleep, but did not wake. "Mama, Papa," she murmured.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter two is here, I hope you enjoy it. I really enjoyed writing this one, especially the last bit. As usual, let me know what you think!

**Fairytale Endings-Chapter Two**

By the end of the week Charon had helped to get Duck enrolled in Kinkan Academy once more. Having not practiced ballet once in three years might have concerned someone else, but not Duck. "I wasn't really very good before, so it doesn't really matter, right?" she said to Fakir with a grin as they walked to the academy. He didn't understand how she could be so cavalier about her skills. He had worked hard for years to attain his skill, and he took pride in it.

The two parted ways to get changed for class, and then met at the door of the ballet studio so that Fakir could introduce Duck to the teacher. "Oh, I forgot to mention," he started to say.

"Mr. Cat?" Duck exclaimed with surprise, seeing their teacher. Duck had expected to see the anthropomorphised cat she was used to, but the teacher was as human as she was. Unfortunately, he seemed to have the same temperament as their former teacher.

"Mr. Fakir, I hope this is not the new student you mentioned. If she is so prone to outbursts like this, then she will have to marry me!" yelled the instructor, becoming more alarming with every word.

"Oh no, no!"

"That won't be necessary Mr. Cat," Fakir said with annoyance. Really, it was so irritating to put up with these kinds of things from the teacher. "And yes, this is Duck. She has been out of practice for a while so I would recommend putting her in the beginner's class, despite her age." With this Fakir moved to the barre to begin his warm-ups as Mr. Cat questioned Duck on her ballet experience. By the time Fakir was done, Mr. Cat was beginning the first barre exercises for the class. Duck knew how bad her ballet technique was, so she had begged and cajoled Fakir into agreeing to help her improve. He wanted to see exactly how bad her technique was, so he stood in a corner of the room and watched. This did not fail to attract whispers and stares from his classmates, but Fakir gritted his teeth and ignored them.

"And _d__é__velopp__é_, return to _retir__é_, very good Miss Duck!" Fakir continued to watch Duck's class, this time actually noticing Duck's dancing. Although she was unpractised, her movements seemed more graceful than usual, and she was able to follow Mr. Cat's corrections without any threats. Despite himself, Fakir was impressed. In the past she had danced so carelessly, with no thought for accuracy or skill. "Well, Miss Duck, if you continue to dance as you just did, I don't think you will be in the beginner's class for very long!" Mr. Cat announced, to Duck's delight. She raced over to Fakir, excitement on her face.

While the rest of the advanced class entered the studio, Duck stood at the barre off to the side. Since she had to wait for Fakir, she decided she might as well practice. Before she could begin, she was interrupted by two of the advanced class girls. When she saw them, Duck had to stop herself from happily greeting Pique and Lillie. They wouldn't remember her, Fakir said.

"Hey, we saw you come in with Fakir!" Pique exclaimed. "How do you know him? He doesn't talk to any of the girls here."

"Maybe she's in love with him! He'll never love you back, but don't worry; I'll be here to comfort you!" Lillie cried with a sadistic glint in her eye.

"What, no! No, it's not like that; we're just friends, and besides that, we're always arguing! Sometimes I just can't stand him. Oh, uh, my name's Duck by the way."

"I'm Pique, and that's Lillie. We're in the same class as Fakir, but he never even talks to us. I don't know how you managed to be friends. You're so lucky! Anyway, I think Mr. Cat is giving us a look so we should get over to the barre."

During the class Duck continued to practice at the opposite barre, excited at the chance of being friends with Pique and Lillie again. When the class was over, Duck and Fakir returned home. "Hey Fakir, I got to talk with Pique and Lillie! I think we'll get to be friends again really soon. And I wasn't as bad today, was I? I thought something was different." she questioned Fakir.

"Well, your extension is still terrible, but at least you followed everything Mr. Cat said. If you practice, you have a chance of improving." Fakir replied, blunt but honest.

xxx

"I think I had a strange dream last night. I can't quite remember it though," Duck announced at breakfast later that week. "But I think it was a happy dream. Strange, but happy."

"What was strange about it?" Charon asked when Fakir gave no reply. He wasn't exactly a morning person.

"Well, I'm not sure. But at least I wasn't a duck in it! I used to be a duck in all my dreams, back when Mytho was regaining his heart."

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. It was just a dream; sometimes they're strange." Charon replied, as Duck and Fakir left for the academy. It was a Saturday, so there were no ballet classes. But the studios were open, and Fakir insisted that Duck practice.

The next week went much the same as the first, with Fakir and Duck attending ballet classes during the week, and practicing on the weekends. Surprisingly, Duck continued to show marginal improvement, and Mr. Cat had decided to allow her into the intermediate class. The following Monday, Mr. Cat called all the ballet classes together for individual assessments. As the most skilled male in the ballet school, Fakir stood up to go first. "Mr. Fakir, although usually you perform individually, I thought it would be good for the other students to see you perform a _pas de deux_. Please choose a partner, and perform the first _pas de deux_ from _Swan Lake_. I believe you are familiar with the piece." Mr. Cat demanded, to Fakir's embarrassment. Why couldn't Mr. Cat have assigned him a partner? Now his idiotic classmates would analyze his choice.

"Duck, get over here," Fakir hissed. Of course he would choose her. They had been practicing together, so they were familiar dancing near each other. And she probably would have yelled at him later if he hadn't picked her.

Duck looked up, flustered, and rushed over to Fakir. "Um, I don't really know this one very well, but maybe if I pretend like I'm Princess Tutu again?" she suggested, taking a starting position.

"Just follow my lead. You'll be fine." Fakir reassured her, also taking his place. The pianist started playing, and they began the dance. _Swan Lake_ was about a girl who was turned into a swan, and as they danced, that made Fakir think about his wonder at discovering that Duck had a human heart, and was not just a bird. He usually found it hard to put his emotions into his dancing, but somehow it was easier to if he thought about Duck.

For her part, Duck thought about when she had been Princess Tutu, but instead of imagining herself dancing with the prince, she thought of Fakir. He was her truest friend, someone she had been through so much with. He had promised to stay by her side, and she knew he would stick to that promise. She hadn't asked him to, but she was glad to know she could depend on him. In a way, their friendship was a bit like a _pas de deux_. He supported her as best as he could, and in her turn she would always believe in him. She had dreamed of dancing with Fakir when she was a duck, and she was glad to get to for real.

Fakir and Duck danced almost unconsciously, each lost in thought, until their separate reveries were broken by the silence left when the music stopped. The class clapped loudly, and Duck beamed. "Excellent dancing Fakir! And Miss Duck, your improvement shows. With lots of practice, maybe you too can join the special class! Mr. Fakir, I was most impressed with your dancing. Your portrayal of Siegfried was even better than usual. What do you think, class?" Mr. Cat asked.

"You could practically see the love on their faces! It makes the tragic ending even more wonderful!" Lillie exclaimed with glee, causing Fakir and Duck to scowl and blush, respectively. They quickly sat down with the rest of the class, glad to be out of the spotlight, as Lillie was called up next to perform for the class.

xxx

That night, Duck's dream was different. It started much the same as it usually did, with visions of an innocent childhood, but that quickly changed.

_She looked through a window into a ballroom, watching her parents. The princess was twelve, just two years short of being allowed to attend social functions like this one. She was used to having to watch these parties from the outside. No one ever noticed her watching. Her parents, the king and queen, sat on two gilded thrones set on a dais at one end of the room. As usual, her mother looked beautiful, her bright red hair contrasting well with the green gown she wore. A line of guests stood, waiting to address the monarchs, while in the center of the room couples danced. They twirled around with an ease that the princess envied. The ladies looked beautiful in their gowns, and the gentlemen were handsome in their finery. The princess loved to watch the dancing best of all. She was nowhere near the skill she would need to be at to dance at a party like this, but her graceful mother had assured her that would pass. She claimed she had been just like that when she was young. The princess found that hard to believe. _

_ As she watched, a familiar man approached her parents. He was young, although his hair was so pale as to be almost white. The princess thought him very handsome. He was a baron, who had inherited his title at the death of his parents a few years earlier. The baron was a great favourite of the court, and the king and queen were known to be partial to him. From the princess's vantage point she couldn't hear anything they said, but she saw her parents rise from their thrones and exit the room with the baron. A surge of excitement swelled in her chest. He was going to have a private audience with her parents. Could it be concerning a betrothal? She was only twelve, but she was her parents' sole heir. And she had hinted to them how very fine she thought the baron._

_ The princess rushed off towards the room she knew they would be in. This was one of the better rooms for her to spy on. She could both see and hear what was going on through a small concealed hole, but it would be very hard for the room's occupants to discover her presence. She hurried to the spot, ready to listen in. To her surprise and dismay, they were not discussing her future marriage to the baron. In fact...was he threatening them? Something wasn't right. _

_ "I have followers situated all across the kingdom. People who will support my rule." The baron informed the king and queen. 'His rule?' the princess wondered. 'He couldn't mean...'_

_ "You have no chance of succeeding, Von Rothbart." The king announced. "Our people are loyal to us! They would never support a pretender to the throne." In the corner a guard stood, prepared to defend his monarchs._

_ The princess grew more and more alarmed. Should she call someone? But most of the palace was in the ballroom. If she left the scene, what might the baron do that she would miss? The princess was startled out of these thoughts by a muffled gasp and a thud from the other room. She looked through the hole, blood draining from her face. In the room lay the bodies of her parents, with the baron standing over them, carefully positioning a blade by the unconscious guard beside him. He ran from the room, yelling "Their Majesties have been murdered! Help, our King and Queen have been killed!"_

_ The princess sank to the floor in shock. The baron, a man she had thought good and trustworthy, had murdered her parents. She could not believe it, would not believe it. The princess sobbed quietly, her mind a blank. Eventually she got up and walked away in a haze, ignoring the murmurs coming from the other room at the discovery of the bodies of the king and queen. As if in a trance, the princess calmly left the palace unnoticed amidst the commotion. With each step it seemed she left more and more of herself behind. It eased the pain for her, letting go of herself. Eventually she came to a lake on the edge of the town. By this time the princess could not even remember her own name, let alone the traumatizing events that had just transpired. With a sigh, she let go of the last traces of herself. And like a princess from a story, she changed into a simple duck, fearing the evil that lurked in human's hearts. _

Duck woke from the nightmare screaming, with no memory of the dream, but just a sense of terror and shock. Within minutes Fakir had stumbled into her room, to find her sobbing hysterically. He quickly sat beside her on the bed and pulled her into his arms without embarrassment. "I'm here, it's okay," he whispered, trying to calm Duck. After a few minutes like this she had calmed enough to stop crying.

"It was so terrible Fakir! Only I can't quite remember it... but I know it was. I've never had a dream like that before." Duck was visibly rattled, so Fakir led her out of the dark room and into the kitchen. He made her sit down at the table while he made her some tea. "Fakir, have you ever had a dream like that?" Duck asked, once he had joined her at the table. An expression passed over Fakir's face that Duck couldn't quite decipher.

"Yeah. After my parents died, I had some pretty horrible nightmares," Fakir whispered. "I blocked out the memory, but I still sometimes dreamed about them."

"Oh, yeah," Duck said sadly, remembering that Fakir's parents had been killed by ravens. "Do you think my dream could have been like that? A memory, I mean."

"Well, I suppose, but when would it have been from? It's best to just forget about it. Come on, let's go back to bed," Fakir reassured her. Inwardly, he worried that she might be right. He didn't want to worry her though.

Before Duck went into her room she stopped. "Hey, Fakir?" she called. He turned towards her. "Thanks, you know, for tonight. I'm glad I wasn't alone," Duck whispered shyly, but without breaking eye contact.

"Don't worry about it," Fakir replied, looking down. He quickly turned and went into his room. Duck smiled and then went back to sleep, with no further dreams plaguing her.


	4. Chapter 3

It took me a few weeks to write this one, but it's now up! A big thank you goes to Nuit Songeur for beta-reading this chapter. Her critique really changed how the chapter ended. As always, please read and review. Tell me what you think: if you like the story, if you think I can improve my writing in some way, and what have you.

**Fairytale Endings-Chapter Three**

The days started to form a pattern for Duck and Fakir. During the week they attended ballet classes at Kinkan Academy, and on the weekends they practiced together in the studio. Duck loved being able to do ballet again, and she was even happier to be told she was improving. Mr. Cat had even given her permission to start taking _pointe_ lessons, something she had been denied before because of her lack of focus. The only thing that could dampen the joy of her days was the recurring nightmares Duck was having. Every night she dreamt the same thing, and always awoke screaming, forgetting the dream instantly. Fakir got very good at arriving at her room only seconds after she started screaming, never waking Charon, who was unaware of Duck's nightmares. And every night Fakir sat by her until she calmed down, and they talked until she was ready to sleep again. Duck began to depend on the fact that Fakir would always be there when she had nightmares, and some nights she even fell asleep when he held her, much to his embarrassment. It was moments like that with Fakir that Duck couldn't quite put into words how she felt about him. But then again, she didn't really think it needed to be said. Fakir had been through so much with her, from defeating the story, to spending three years with her even though she was only a duck. They were friends, but somehow it went much deeper than that. It was something unspoken between them, but Duck was content at keeping it that way.

xxx

Fakir was becoming used to Duck's recurring nightmares, much as they troubled him. Fakir had seen Duck stand down the Monster Raven with no sign of fear; this was different from that. It shook Fakir up to see her like that, so vulnerable and terrified. It was even worse to know that all he could do was be with her, and help her escape the dream. Once more, he could not protect her, and he hated it. All he wanted to do was protect those he cared about, and he was thwarted by something as stupid as a nightmare! Well, if he could not protect her from her nightmares, then he would do all he could to help her fight them.

xxx

It happened on an ordinary day, when Fakir and Duck were in ballet class together. One minute they were practicing _grande j__étés_ in the center, and the next Duck was panicked, whimpering and grabbing her head. "Fakir!" she cried, but he was already at her side, ignoring the stares of their classmates.

"Duck, what is it?" he questioned, alarm plain on his face. This was too similar to when she had her nightmares. Unexpectedly, Duck pulled him close, burying her face in his chest. While this would not embarrass Fakir when they were alone, simply because he would do anything to protect her, his face reddened when he glimpsed Duck's friends snickering off to the side. "Gah! Don't do things like that!"

"I was just standing here, and then, it was like I remembered something. But it was so horrible! I think maybe it was my nightmare. But I still remember it!" she cried, face pressed into his shirt. They sat there like this for at least a whole minute, until Duck was composed enough for Fakir to lead her out of the studio and somewhere more private. He brought her to a bench along one of the hallways in the ballet building. Since all the other students were in class, they weren't likely to be interrupted.

"Duck," Fakir said quietly, "can you tell me what you saw?" Duck nodded, looking better than she had been in the studio, but still visibly shaken.

"Well, like I said, I think it was my nightmare. I didn't realize it was so horrible. I was watching through some sort of spy hole, and I saw," here Duck's voice cracked. "I saw two people killed by a man. I think they were supposed to be my parents. I'm not sure how I know that, but it just felt that way. The killer looked a little bit like Mytho, but like after he had his heart shard bathed in raven's blood. He just attacked them out of nowhere! And then he stood over their bodies, laughing while they bled. It was so terrible, Fakir! I couldn't even do anything, and I just ran away!" At this Duck gave a shudder. "The only weird thing about it was that after I ran away, I turned into a duck. I don't get it. But it was just a dream, right? It felt so real, but I know it can't be. I don't get it though. If I've been having this nightmare for weeks, why am I just remembering it now? It doesn't make sense."

With a shudder Fakir recalled the fact that his parents were also killed. He understood what was so frightening about her nightmare. Duck seemed to have calmed down enough by now for them to return to class. "Do you want to go back to class now?" he asked her. She gave a small nod, and they started back towards the ballet studio. When they opened the doors, Fakir heard a few snickers from their classmates, but other than that the class was silent. Glancing across the room he could see Pique giving Duck a sympathetic look, while Lillie had an oddly frightful gleam in her eyes. The class continued as usual, and when it ended Mr. Cat asked to see Fakir and Duck privately.

"Miss Duck, your outburst today was very concerning. Is something on your mind? Perhaps you were afraid I would m-marry another girl?" Their teacher got visibly flustered as he spoke, and with a cough he continued. "Mr. Fakir, thank you for taking care of the matter so quickly. It is good to know that Miss Duck has such a reliable friend." Mr. Cat said, for once moving quickly past the subject of marriage. "There is another matter that I would like to discuss with you two, as well." Fakir cringed, hoping it wouldn't be something embarrassing. Mr. Cat was prone to awkward or embarrassing announcements. "As you know, the spring recital is in three months. Traditionally, the students showcase their abilities in solos and _pas de deux_. You partnered very well together in the last assessment, as I recall. I encourage you two to perform a _pas de deux_ for the show, since you always perform solo Fakir." Both Fakir and Duck were surprised at this. It was not the talk either of them had been expecting from Mr. Cat. With his message made their teacher dismissed them, and they went home relieved to have avoided an embarrassing conversation.

xxx

The next morning at breakfast, Duck announced to Fakir that she remembered other, more pleasant, aspects of her dream. "I think they come before the scary part. It's like I dream up a childhood. Did I even have a childhood?" She frowned, thinking this over.

"That's an interesting question," Charon replied, hearing just the last bit of Duck's words to Fakir. "Fakir said you had a human heart, but we still don't know what that really means. How did you get it, if you were just a duck?" he mused.

While they walked to the academy, Fakir shared a thought he had had at breakfast. "Charon doesn't know about the nightmares so I didn't want to say it then, but Duck, what if your dreams aren't just that, but memories?"

"What? How could they be memories? Wasn't I just a duck?" Duck asked, confused. "I mean I thought I was, but it seems weird to start having these nightmares all of a sudden."

"Maybe my story returned some memories to you. Sometimes things happen that we're able to block out, but they find a way of returning," Fakir said, thinking of his parents. "If that's true, it's because of me that you're having these nightmares." Fakir didn't like that thought. Why could he never protect her?

"Fakir, don't be like that! Your story returned me to my true nature, so it did something good! Even if I don't know what that means, I know you wanted to help me by writing the story. Even if this wasn't your intention with it, in the end I think your story will have done some good. But if this is my true self, then maybe they _are_ memories that your story is returning to me. Wouldn't that mean I wasn't always a duck? Drosselmeyer made me think that, but was he just manipulating me?" she frowned at that thought.

"That actually isn't such a bad theory. Your nightmare did end in you turning into a duck after all." Fakir had to give her credit; apparently three years as a silent duck had taught her to think. "But how could we even prove that they're memories? Hypothetically speaking, if you really were a girl and not a duck, we don't even know where you came from," he said.

"If they are memories though... oh God! Those people!" Duck sniffed, wiping away the tears that had suddenly come to her eyes. "Then I really did have parents... but they're dead. If my dreams _are_ memories, anyway. How could I forget my own parents though?" Duck stood there a minute, looking pensive.

"Well, when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with you I asked Autor for his advice. Maybe he'll have something to say about this."

"Autor? I don't know, I still don't really trust him. He is smart, but I think he's a little too full of himself. But I guess it might be good to have someone else's opinion."

"He can be a bit trying, but he's done a lot of research, and I have to admit he knows a lot more than I do." With a little more convincing from Fakir, Duck agreed to go and ask Autor's opinion later that day.

xxx

In class that day, Duck was distracted, lost in thought. She really was confused about the whole dream business. How could she tell if they were dreams or memories? Fakir leaned more towards them being just dreams, but Duck wasn't sure about that. She had had dreams before, and these felt different. Lacking the hazy quality of most dreams, these felt more solid, more real. Sure, it was scary to think these were real, but Duck had never been one to run from what truly frightened her. _I know Fakir thinks they're just dreams, but I just _know_ they aren't. They must be my own memories,_ Duck decided. She would still talk to Autor like Fakir suggested, but now Duck was resolute. She truly believed those were her own memories of her past, and not just some random dreams. Mind made up, Duck focused on the task at hand. Quickly glancing at her classmates who danced in the center, Duck followed suite and stepped into a balance, narrowly avoiding a reprimand from Mr. Cat for daydreaming.

xxx

After dinner that day, Duck and Fakir went straight to Autor's house. He answered the door on the third knock, looking a little surprised to see anyone there. "Oh, it's you Fakir. And is that Duck? I see my theory was correct," Autor said smugly. He let the two into the study. The room was not the same as three years previous. While he still retained a respect for Drosselmeyer, after seeing his work firsthand Autor did not think of him as highly as in the past. Gone was the clutter of Drosselmeyer's study; instead, its decor complimented Autor's refined tastes with a simple elegant design.

Not one for small talk, Fakir explained to Autor about Duck's nightmares, and Duck's theory surrounding them. "Hmm, that is very interesting," Autor remarked, pushing up his glasses. "I have researched story-spinning for years, and I'm quite the expert on it. In stories, word choice is very important; even more so with story-spinning. The specific wording of Fakir's story may have been able to surface repressed memories. The important thing is discerning how much was memory, and what was just part of your dream. But evidently from all that has happened, you need to learn to control your stories Fakir," Autor admonished, turning towards Fakir. "You did not intend for Duck to become a human, and yet here she is. You did not intend to give her memories or strange dreams, but she has them. Story-spinning is a delicate art. Haphazardly throwing words together simply will not do. Returning to the matter at hand, Duck, how much do you know about this dream? How much of it would you say was a memory?"

"Well, I'm not sure but I think it all was a memory. I don't think I would remember it all if it was just a dream. It's kind of confusing," Duck admitted. "And I'm starting to remember things during the day too. I really think these are memories though."

"Then we'll have to take it all at face value. If those really are your memories, you'll just have to find a way to deal with them. Sometimes that's the hardest part," Fakir stated, thinking of how he had blocked away his parents' deaths for years.

"Okay, but I haven't told you everything. This may sound kind of silly, coming from me," Duck began, "but in my memories, my parents we're just anybody. They were a king and queen."

"What? Don't tell me you really _are_ Princess Tutu." Fakir was a bit shocked, but he decided to believe her. She had no reason to lie about it.

"Actually, that's the one thing I don't remember. I don't know what my real name is. But I can remember bits of a childhood, and everything up to me turning into a duck. It's a bit of a blur after that."

"That is no surprise, you were a _duck_." Autor remarked with disdain. Duck gave him a quick glare.

"Hey! I remember everything from the last three years, even if I was a duck!" Even that one time Fakir let her sleep on his pillow... "A-anyway, that's not important!" she stuttered.

"She's right. If her parents were royal, and they were killed, that means a murderer is on their throne," Fakir stated. That complicated things.

"Yeah! I can't just sit by and let him get away with it. Even if I can't do anything, I have to try. My parents are dead because of him."

"Where is this anyway? If you really do want to do something about it, you can't just go traipsing along looking for this usurper," Autor superiorly informed Duck. "And even if you do intend to act on it, he will not take kindly to a young girl challenging his reign. You will need allies, people who support your claim to the throne. And even if you obtain support, how will _you_ rule a kingdom? You do not know the slightest thing about diplomacy, let alone any of the other skills a ruler needs."

"Well uh, I don't know," Duck admitted. "I didn't really think about that."

Fakir rolled his eyes. "That's a great start: because some dreams told us to, we're going to go searching for some kingdom with a false ruler? No, we don't even know if these are actual memories. How can you be sure?"

"The obvious answer is to research this, get some more information. Luckily for you, I am an expert at research," Autor pronounced, a self-satisfied smile on his face. "First, I will look into the surrounding kingdoms over the past five years. If Duck is indeed a princess, then her kingdom will be missing her. That is, _if_ those are real memories you speak of. Without any proof of that, this is all conjecture. After you address that question, then you can begin making plans. I will go to the library at once." Autor readied what he would take, filling a bag with papers and writing materials. His aid in this was more of an intellectual challenge for himself than out of an actual desire to help Duck. Although he was familiar with Fakir, the best he could say about her was that she was an acquaintance. Although if she was indeed a princess and she was able to successfully challenge the usurper's reign, she would be in need of an advisor... Maybe Autor would finally be able to prove his worth.

Fakir and Duck left with Autor and headed back to Charon's, with a bit more insight if not any concrete answers.

xxx

"Hey," Fakir said, startling her out of her thoughts. "Are you okay, Duck?" The two were in Fakir's room, Duck sitting on the bed while Fakir sat at his desk. Even across the room, he hadn't missed the look on Duck's face.

"What? Oh, yeah, I guess." Duck responded, but her face gave her away.

"Idiot. You don't have to hide things from me," Fakir chided. "I know what it's like to lose your parents," he continued, getting up and sitting beside her on the bed.

_That's right,_ Duck thought. _Fakir must know exactly how I'm feeling right now._ "I'm sorry Fakir; this must be opening old wounds. Don't worry about me. I only have a few memories of them, so it's not like what you went through. Really, I'm more concerned over what Autor said. How can I even consider facing that man? I want to try, but what can I possibly do?"

"Duck, you didn't have to face the Monster Raven alone. What makes you think this is any different?"

_Fakir's right! Autor did say I'll need allies after all. _"Maybe we should ask Mytho for advice?" Duck suggested. They hadn't seen Mytho or Rue much in the three years after they had returned to the story, but Fakir had regular correspondence with their old friends.

"It can't hurt. I'll write him a letter tomorrow, and we can see what he makes of all this. They haven't visited in a while either; this could give them a reason to come here," Fakir conceded. Even though Mytho was only a prince and so did not deal with the business of ruling a kingdom, he was still Crown Prince and had many responsibilities as such.

With this decided Duck got up to go to her room, but paused in the doorway. "Thanks Fakir. Somehow you always know what to say!" Duck grinned at him, and left. It had been an interesting day, but Duck was glad to be doing something about her new memories. Duck went to sleep content, not afraid of having nightmares. If they came, she would fight them as best she could, knowing Fakir was by her side.


End file.
